The company
Alexander Daniels is delighted to be working in close partnership with a reputable SME retail group based in the West London area. They are currently seeking a Group Finance Director to help them continue their journey of rapid growth and build out a sophisticated finance team. The group currently has two major entities, although is set to expand into a third revenue stream in the near future by venturing internationally (responsibility for which will also fall under the successful candidate's umbrella).

The role
This role is very hands on. Given the group's history, until current there hasn't been a need for a wide finance team, as one of the two major entities is fairly nascent. The first twelve months of this role will see you building financial procedures and establishing systems, and building out the team to where it needs to be. Following this, there is free reign to move on to other projects to support the group's continued growth.

At the day-to-day level, this role will have full responsibility for annual budgeting, cash flow analysis and forecasting/reforecasting for multiple sites, and filing of year end accounts. This is a real directorship role that will see you working with the board and MD closely at this particularly crucial stage of their life cycle. Mid-term projects will include suggesting and working on a new system for the group, and implementing controls and policy to the finance function to make the business compliant and ensure plain sailing for the future.

The candidate
You will hold a CCAB qualification (ACCA, ACA, CA or ACMA) and have previous experience in SME environments, ideally from a multisite background. This is a good opportunity for an experienced Finance Director to really make the role their own, or for a Head of Finance/Financial Controller to make the next step up into an FD role.

You will need to have led small finance teams previously and be happy in a hands-on role that will see you looking after the full finance function. It would be advantageous to be experienced in recruiting and appraising, but this is not essential. Solid verbal and written communication skills are a must for board reporting and frequent liaison with the senior leadership team.